Countdown
by Pandaczy
Summary: Zero is where everything starts and ends.


She dropped her bag when she saw the scene in front of her.

Her hands in his hair and his hands on her waist, holding her closer to him.

It was a beautiful scene, she could feel the passion. But it would be more beautiful, if the guy wasn't her boyfriend.

They stopped immediately when they heard a thud. Turning to their side, their eyes widen in shock and they separated as if they were burned.

"Ran…" Her name that she once loved when it was said by him now felt like acid. It burned her, and it broke her.

So she did what she was best at. She ran.

She ran far away from his place, ran far away from him, and ran far away from where her heart shattered.

From a distance she could hear him chasing and calling after her name. Spotting a taxi, she ran faster and hopped into the taxi, slamming the door behind her. As the vehicle started to move, he had finally caught up with her and was pounding his fist against the window, pleading for her to stop.

As the car gained speed, he could no longer run after it, but stand helplessly on the pavement as he watched the car drive away. And she stared at the rear mirror, face frowning, forcing herself not to cry when she saw his helpless figure.

It was only at the slam of her bedroom door that she finally let her tears flow. She slid down from the door, hugging her legs as she cried.

Many thoughts ran through her head. 'Did she do something wrong?', 'Why?', 'Did he not love her anymore?'

When she finally had no more tears to cry, she packed her bags, wrote a note to her dad, and left. Left because she was a coward, left because she didn't want to face him, and left because she needed space. Space to think about what she should do next.

And when she left, she didn't come back for a month.

He didn't know what to do. He, the great detective, was at a loss. He didn't meant to cheat on her. But after being with Haibara for so long as a kid, he missed his life as Edogawa Conan, and he did the stupidest thing by kissing her.

The first time was a month after he and Ran got together. The second time was when he and Ran had their first fight. And by the third time, whenever he was lonely, annoyed or frustrated, he turned to Haibara.

But when he saw Ran, he immediately woke up. Her face of betrayal sent waves of pain through his body. He felt paralysed. And he felt worse when he found out that she had left without telling anyone where she could be found.

Then one day, she was back. When he heard that she would be waiting for him at his house, he put down everything and ran back home.

He slammed the front door open, ran into the living room, and there she was, seated on the sofa.

"Ran…" He called out.

She looked up at him and said nothing. They continued staring at each other before he finally spoke again.

"Where have you been? Why did-"

"I'll get straight to the point." She cut him off mid-sentence. She looked away for a split second before looking at him straight in the eye. "Let's break up."

"Even if we meet on the street, pretend that you don't know me. And I will do the same. Don't contact me, and neither will I contact you."

She paused for a moment and pained flashed in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Let's…let's pretend that we never met."

At her words, his eyes widened. But he couldn't find the strength to speak. After all, it was his fault that they ended up this way.

When she saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she stood up and prepared to leave. It wasn't until she was exiting the living room that he spoke.

"Is there any way for me to change your mind?"

She paused in her step, took a deep breath and answered, "No."

"For the past month that I have been away, I thought about what I wanted every day. And this is what I want."

As he stared at her back, he desperately wanted to find reasons for her to stay. But he found none. Because there was nothing for her to stay beside him.

"Do you still remember what you told me in London?" She asked, still not facing him. Because she knew seeing him would cause her to waver.

When he didn't answer, she continued.

"You told me that 'zero is where everything starts'. But did you also know that in a countdown, zero is also where everything ends? This is zero… It's time to say goodbye."

Turning her face to side where she could see him from her peripheral vision, she allowed a lone tear to slide down.

"Goodbye Shinichi."

With that, she left.

And the slam of the door echoed in the house.


End file.
